Day 21

The past three nights have been the absolute best sleep for all of us so far! We snuggle down under a bunch of layers each night and wake up toasty warm until we decide to leave our sleeping bags.

I took a walk back to the prairie this morning to check out the elk. There was a thick layer of fog across the prairie that attempted to camoflauge them. Whatever is blooming right now is enough to keep their heads down through all kinds of noises. I'm not sure they looked up the entire time I was standing there!

After writing about the past two days I started some hot chocolate for all of us. I have no idea what the temperature was but I did know I would be voted best mom if I had it ready when they woke up. Laney voted it perfect and reminded me we still had a few marshmallows leftover the throw in them. It was perfectly warm enough to warm our hands and bellies!

Cooking hashbrowns takes a long time with my little stove but it's so worth it to have a different hot meal than our regulars. Ryan and Brayden fought over the last of the pickles. It's definitely time for a grocery resupply. We're down to only grapes and apples now.

We were hoping to meet up with Grammie this morning as we hadn't seen her in a few days. She was staying about 20 minutes down the road from us this time but neither of us had cell phone reception at our sites. We exchanged some irregular texts and decided to meet up at our visitors center later in the morning. We headed to another visitors center to get the program information and maps for hiking. We immediately sat down for the movie first right inside.

We learned about the protection of the trees beginning at the start of the 19th century that didn't actually happen until the 1960s when the area became a National Park. All that time loggers were allowed to clear cut many areas of trees for the high demand for wood in the growing San Francisco and surrounding areas. Thankfully there was still some "old growth" forest left that we were going to be able to hike through to fully appreciate these trees.

Next we headed back to the Prairie Creek Visitors Center near our campground to learn a little more and meet Grammie. I took the opportunity to talk with a ranger about the not-to-miss things we need to do the next few days. Brayden found this half set of antlers sticking out of a tree on display. Apparently an elk got stuck in a tree and it eventually grew around him!

There were lots of hugs from Grammie and lots of licking from Lola when we finally met up. There was a program starting soon so we went to the meetup area for lunch first. Laney spotted the elusive (and gross!) banana slug on a tree nearby.

Our first stop on the program hike was a tree called "Big Tree". It is 286 feet tall and almost 24 feet in diameter. It used to be over 300 feet tall until a section on the ground next to us fell off during a storm. This picture is so deceiving - it is massive!

We walked around the Circle Trail stopping often to learn a little more about the trees, their history, and different plants and animals along the trail. It was interesting to learn the cones of these giants are only about the size of an olive.

Our guide Taylor is a student of wildlife biology so she was a wealth of information on everything around us. She even showed us a plant commonly called "Hiker's toilet paper" that was the softest leaf I've ever felt.

We talked about the entirely different ecology of the canopy of t
the trees as well. There is a salamander that lives it's entire life 300 feet in the air. It is born already able to breathe through it's skin and finds water in the fern thatches growing high in the trees. She said there are even microscopic shrimp living there!

After the program we headed to hike the Trillium Falls trail. This was a fantastic hike with a waterfall only about 1/3 of a mile from the start. We walked up countless switchbacks to almost be above some of the trees. We spotted so many trees devastated by fire but then could see the tree's clones taking their places. The ferns filled the forest floor making the area look like a lush filming location for Jurassic Park. This hike was close to a parking lot but shortly after we made it into the woods we felt miles deep into the forest.

We went back to the Prairie Creek Visitors Center next for a special ranger presentation. Earlier in the day Ryan noticed Lola would be able to become a "Bark Ranger" of Redwood. She took her oath just like all the ones the kids had taken over the years. Her oath was a little bit different with her promising to sniff and take her owner lots of places but she earned it!

We said goodbye to Grammie for the day and headed back to our campsite to cook dinner. The kids played games and played while I cooked, cleaned, and edited pictures from the day.

As the sun started to disappear we headed to the visitors center for a night walk program. We found our bachelor three hanging out in the campground as we were getting ready to go to our program.

The walk was exceptionally short but the information was excellent. My animal loving kids knew a lot of the facts about nocturnal animals but they weren't brave enough to share. We learned all about the flying squirrel, mountain lion, little brown bat, spotted owl, and and gray fox.

 We visited one of the trees we like then took the Redwood Access trail back to our campsite. The kids huddled to chat in the big tent while I sat on a bench by the prairie to upload the past few days of blog entries. It was dark by the time I stood up and scared a family of curious raccoons coming to check me out. I'm not sure who was spooked more!

Day 13

We had some goals for the day and hopefully it wouldn't include all that much driving. Everyone slept in pretty late after our late night. We shared some oatmeal and headed out for the morning. Our first stop was the Ya'i Heki' Regional Indian Museum. On our drive up from San Diego I noticed a bunch of small pockets of reservations - super tiny towns with signs about a mile apart noting which tribe called them home. This was much different from the huge reservations we'd driven through in Oklahoma, Arizona, and Montana.

This museum was a fantastic learning experience about the Indigenous peoples of inland southern California. The three main tribes we learned about were the Cahuilla, Cupeno, and Luiseno.  They didn't have and written language so the customs, morals, and history were passed down orally through generations. We played some of the games the kids played to sharpen their hand eye coordination and learned about several more. The kids were practicing for hunting at a very young age.

One of the docents took us under her wing and basically led us around a good portion of the museum and shared so much of her knowledge. We learned so much!   The kids recognized some plants from their horticulture studies that they use for all kinds of different natural remedies or food. 

We learned once Europeans moved in the tribes lost their ways to provide for their families so the men became ranch hands for these new people and many of the women began to weave intricate baskets to sell. These baskets were highly sought for their designs and craftsmanship. We also learned this art has almost disappeared from their cultures because the resulting hourly wage from creating a basket for what they can sell them for currently is not near enough to support a family. 

They also had a fabulous display on loan from Washington D.C. about the service of Native Americans in the military through all the wars. We decided we might need to go back to D.C. to visit the museum as it was just being built when we were there.

Ira Hayes was one of the men raising the flag at the Battle of Iwo Jima.  One in four Native Americans volunteered to serve in Vietnam while only one in twelve of the general population did so. Many grappled with the hypocrisy of killing and taking someone else's land when just that same thing had been done to their people.

 We learned about many of the tools they used in their daily lives - many we had never seen before. Even in our world full of technological advances we were impressed by the ingenuity of their tools to solve the problems they were facing.

The docent also happened to have a rattle snake skin so we learned a little bit about those guys too. We haven't seen one on this trip yet and were fine if we didn't!  We were also hoping not to see a mountain lion in the wild either. This stuffed guy was enough for us!


The view on the porch facing the lake was beautiful too so we took a few minutes to enjoy it too.

Next up was laundry. It definitely is lowest on our list of chores but we were about 2 days from running out of clothes so we carved out an hour to get it done. I love the laundromats that have the capability to wash our 4 loads all at one time in 20 minutes!


Once we got back to the campground we had lunch in the tiny bit of shade we had then headed straight for the beach. Tempers were flaring between all three kids so water was often my solution. It was hot again today and everyone else there thought so too. The beach was the most crowded we'd seen it but we found a little spot that we could call our own for a little while. People were bring these giant 20-ft floats that were crowding everyone and then they weren't even using them! After about an hour or so we headed back to the campsite to get ready for what I'd been looking forward to - a twilight hike!

When we arrived to the parking area there were at least 100 people there. We aren't used to these crowds! Thankfully the interpreters were expecting it as they had three different options for us to choose from. We chose the 2 mile hike up to a 360 degree viewpoint including education on history of the Native Americans in the area. It must be our theme today!

This hike was level at first but the incline changed dramatically as we kept on. The interpreter had perfectly timed stops to let us recover and learn a little more about the culture.

The view was breathtaking once we reached the top. We saw parts of the lake we'd never seen before! We hung back for a minute as everyone left to enjoy the view and get a unobstructed picture of the view.

It was quiet and dark by the time we got back to our site - perfect for a fire! Brayden started the fire and they all whittled roasting sticks for marshmallows.  We were all too tired to stay up and enjoy the fire too long so we decided to leave some of the wood for the next people and get some sleep. We had big plans the next day!

Day 6

The time change is officially messing up my sleep. Even with being up until after midnight I woke up ready to go for my morning run at 5am. This is 4am where we currently are. What happens when we change to Pacific Time??? I tried my hardest to go back to sleep but after 30 minutes I gave up and went to the patio to finish all the days so far and get them ready to post to the blog. I had a friend with me most of the time taking care of all the bugs that were bothering me.

Once I was finished Ryan was walking toward me so we decided to wake up Laney and get busy packing up. My idea of waking her up would be "Good morrrrning Laneeeeey" in a sing song voice. Ryan's idea was letting all the air out of her sleep mat. Guess which one goes over better for morning-wants-to-sleep-in-Laney?  We were packed up within about 20 minutes so the girls went to play chess while I changed and drove closer to Grammie's spot.


She already had bowls of watermelon ready because she knew I was wanting to get on the road early. We had a 7 hour drive today - the 2nd longest of the trip. It was through a section of the Lincoln National Forest which I was thrilled about but there were also long sections back on good 'ol I-10.

Once we downed our fruit and bagels, the kids helped Grammie pack up and we were back on the road in no time. There are several memorable drives in the past 7 years and our trek through Lincoln National Forest is one of them. Our drive 7 years ago took us on a northern pass from Roswell and today's would take us a more southern route that was a fun drive as well as a beautiful one. This route was quite a bit more commercial but it was very enjoyable still to say the least.

With a few stops for gas and a bunch of hours on the road, we finally made the turn south for the 40 minute drive toward the Chiricahua National Monument. This part of the drive was interesting because I kept seeing things in the distance thinking it would be the campground and we would drive right past it. It was 104 outside so I was hoping for at least a tree to put the tent under.

We pulled into an empty parking lot at the visitor's center and Grammie thought they'd closed the park and forgot to tell us! We found it was actually open, checked in, and bought some postcards and stickers at the gift shop. I also remembered I'd brought the kids' National Park passports so I grabbed those out of the car for them to stamp.

We pulled into our campground and I was instantly thrilled. It was a tiny, quiet little campground with perfect little spots all nestled in the trees. It had rained while we were in the visitors center so the temperature was a lovely 72 degrees. Much better than 104!

After we both set up we had a quick dinner and got back on the road for the scenic drive. I'd had it on my list to do but the pictures in the visitors center reminded me why! The views were absolutely spectacular and again there is no way I can do them justice with my photos. Around every turn there was something else to see. I'm just glad noone was behind me!




















We first hiked part of Sugarloaf trail. Grammie noticed there were no dogs allowed on the trail - likely because of the mountain lions - so the kids and I hiked in about a third of a mile to the CCC tunnel. The trail was very nice and the views were even better.  Next time I would definitely hike to the top of the mountain!






Next we stopped at the Echo Canyon trail to go to the Grotto area. We saw lots of lizards out finding their dinner as we walked. The formations on the trail simply defied physics.

Once we made it to the Grottos the kids were thrilled to be able to climb all around the nooks and crannies that had been created by so many years of water. I wanted to climb up but decided to let the kids have this moment. I'll be back with Dave for sure.

Last we visited Massi Point - the end of the scenic drive. We just happened to drive in just as the sky was turning pink behind the mountain. It looked like there was a fire in the valley behind the mountain. After taking a few pictures we explored the nature center learning about some legends and skirmishes of history.

The drive home wasn't quite as spectacular as it was getting pretty dark. I was tired even though the kids claimed it was only 7:45. We are still having time zone conversations after all these years!  The girls and I retired to the tent to write, read, and enjoy the lovely 65 degree night.

Day 24

I was up for the before the sunrise this morning so I had plenty of time to get to my rock to watch. All the birds and woodpeckers were waking up making so much noise it sounded like a symphony warming up!

Emily and Evey had packed up the bottom section of their tent and the screen tent the day before since it was dry so they were ready to go before we were this morning! We got on the road early to be able to set up  and come back to ride horses. We made it to Linville Falls by 10:30 to set up and discovered we were again in full sun.

I spotted a site on the river across the meadow so we moved there before the kids had too much set up. My favorite spots are on the water and it was tucked up under some trees so at least we would be able to have shade most of the day for all of us. Emily and Evey don't have much of a choice when they set up as their tent is attached to her car. It is a very cool setup but it definitely had some disadvantages too.

After a quick lunch we got on the road to meet our horses. The kids were beyond excited. I followed my crazy GPS again so it was a good thing we'd left a little early. Ever since the kids changed the voice to the Garmin guy it wasn't to route me off the parkway to go places. He does have a few funny things to say along the way and often tells me how amazing I am so I left him guiding us. Once I spend a day somewhere I'm usually pretty good with getting us around.

After a quick stop at the post office we made it to our spot to meet the guide. We should have known something was up when I'd noticed the parking area on the way in didn't have his red truck and trailer parked there. I had a few voice mails so I called him to check to see if we were maybe in the wrong area. When he answered he apologized and said one of his horses had kicked the trailer door that morning and he'd been at the vet's office the whole day. Needless to say our ride was canceled. We were all very disappointed.

The kids were even more disappointed when I announced this would be the perfect opportunity to do our laundry! Emily found us a spot a few miles away and I promised everyone we would try to find another guide while we were there. This laundry place was probably the least maintained place I'd ever been in and did not seem to have any kind of ventilation at all. We were sweating just walking in the door. The next place was about 10 miles away so we got to work trying to spend the least amount of time there.

I found another place we could go horseback riding near our next campground so we booked it for the day before Dave arrived. It was too far away for the kids to get excited yet but at least my kids had a bunch to look forward to in the next week!

My kids were the most helpful with laundry than ever since they knew the quick it was finished the quicker we could leave. I have to admit it is pretty nice to get through 4 loads of laundry in an hour.

We walked out all red-faced from the temperature inside and decided the last thing we wanted to do was to cook so we headed to a local grill - the Come Back Shack. It is a burger joint but they also had tuna steaks and veggie burgers so we thought it would be perfect. The kids enjoyed filling out an order form to have their burgers exactly the way they wanted. And they were delicious with fresh hand-cut fries too!

The kids all sat together and enjoyed their food while Emily and I googled all the questions they'd had since we'd had service. They were most intrigued by the pictures of the blue ghost fireflies. We grabbed everyone milkshakes and headed to the grocery store for a quick stock up for bread, fruits & veggies. The water at our campground was tinted a little yellow so we each also bought several 3 gallon jugs of water. It all barely fit in my car with all of us!

Once we unloaded Emily's stuff and reorganized ours, Brayden and I made an extra trip for ice. The girls played in the river making a pool for clams and other tiny fish they caught. Ryan spotted a newt too - a first for all of us!














We were looking forward to sleeping in our tent tonight as the rushing water next door was a lovely constant white noise. We read a few chapters of our latest book - Schooled - and were all out within seconds.

Day 19

I woke to a hummingbird dive bombing our tent a couple times at sunrise so I slipped out of the tent to get things ready. The kids and I were hiking a few spots today and the sky was beautiful as we got ready.

Our plans were to hike a couple trails around the lodge to catch some views and enjoy the early morning together. We made it to Fodder Stacks trail a little before 6am to the sun just peeking over the mountains. The mountain view just seemed to go on for days this early before all the smog set in.

Next we headed to part of the Bluff Ridge Trail. This trail ran the length of the Doughton Park area where we were staying. We decided to hike a section we'd seen the day before through a valley up to some rocks. It turned out this part was also a section of the Mountains to Sea Trail I've been pondering hiking as a build up to hiking the Appalachain Trail.






The views were gorgeous and we all wished Dave had been with us. We stopped for a snack and talked a lot about what we were going to do when he joins us. I was talking about my dad for a little while and we got into a conversation about the things he taught me I still remember and use. The kids laughed at some of the things they have learned from Dave!

The girls and I spotted another section to hike that had to have better views so we left Brayden to nap while we continued on. We told him to "Caw Caw" to us if he needed us to come back. The girls had a blast running around the meadow and sliding down the rocks to just climb right back up. They ran ahead of me "Caw Cawing" to Brayden as I enjoyed the view. See those two dots in the middle? Brayden is relaxing on the rocks behind them.

We made it back to the campground as Emily and Evey were cleaning up from breakfast. The maintenance people were beginning to mow the campground so the girls and I scrambled over to pick some flowers before they were eaten. They'd asked me to save a can from one of our dinners so they could make our dinner table a little more homey.



Uncle Kevin and Grandpa should be so proud as the girls taught our traveling buddies how to play what we call "Kings". Right now we are playing for rocks but we plan to play for pretzels next. Maybe we'll graduate to quarters before the end of the trip! I need to earn laundry money somehow!








After a couple (hundred) rounds of cards, Evey and Laney sketched the lighthouse on the rock Ryan had found. Laney was so proud of her drawing she wants to do a couple more and enter one in the fair for 4H.

We had a quick lunch and decided now that the meadow had been mowed it would be perfect for running around and playing in now. Ryan, Laney, and I went up to the top of the hill and threw the frisbee as hard as we could into the wind to try and catch it. Check out the height Ryan got for one catch!

Once Emily and Evey got back from their walk all the kids and I played Ultimate Frisbee again. This time teams were Evey, Laney, and Brayden against Ryan and me. The frisbee was incredibly hard to catch with the wind but Ryan and I ended up winning 5-4.

Now that we were all exhausted we decided to take a ride back to the Blue Ridge Music Center to see what kind of new music we could find. We all loved the last guys and were hoping to discover someone new. We tried to make the timing perfect for arriving at a break so we could score the rocking chairs.

About a mile from our campground is the Brinegar cabin it was only scheduled to be open on the weekends so we planned to visit on our way to our next spot. We were surprised to see a sign that it was open this morning so we made a quick turn in to check it out.

This cabin belonged to a shoemaker's family for many years. Inside a park ranger was demonstrating spinning wool into thread and she showed us a typical sweater for a child. Laney says it's itchy but I'm guessing if that's all she had she'd wear it!

We visited the spring house with an actual spring running through it. Ryan was not interested when we talked about the kids having to trek down there for water, milk, eggs, or butter a few times a day. Next was the apple house which stored all the vegetables and fruits the family needed.
Just outside was a display of the different tools needed for mountain life. Emily picked up a bundle of flax which I assumed would be the same texture as wool but it was a soft and fine as a baby's hair!

The garden appeared like it was just recently planted with pumpkins, flax, tomatoes, pole beans and more. I bet it will be full of goodies in about a momnth or so!

When we got to the music center we all immediately knew something different was going on. There were so many cars and people in the breezeway that it must be good! We made it to the area and realized what we were going to have the pleasure of watching was a jam session of local artists leading songs in the round.

***music center***

They all looked like they were having so much fun! There was everything from mandolins, dobros, banjos, a stand-up bass, and even a washtub bass! At one point a guy appeared playing a native american instrument we'd never seen before but when he was introduced and was able to play by himself it was put-you-to-sleep lovely.

By the time we got back it was time for dinner. Emily had a pink note on her car - we got in trouble for our firewood. Even though we'd purchased it just 6 miles away in town, there were new regulations that said it had to be heat treated a special way. The park ranger had us bag it up and put it back in her car. I would've thought she would have taken it, but I supposed putting it in a bag was their lame solution.

The campground was filling up quick since it was Friday and kids were finally out of school. A pack of boy scouts even showed up to camp that appeared to be backpacking. We had dinner and the kids and I all did our traditional campground walk. They discovered all kinds of dogs and we saw a deer (which are becoming almost as common as dogs)!

Once we got back Emily had just about finished some popcorn over the fire so the kids ate and we started to pack up for the night. The Clarke kids were in foul moods so we quickly got ready and went to bed early. We'd had a very long day and sleep would do all of us good.